Compounds which are known to affect the photosynthesis process have proved useful in agriculture as selective herbicides. The majority of these known compounds are non-toxic to mammals and present few environmental problems since they are specific to a process which is unique to plant life. In view of these advantages, interference with the photosynthetic process is an attractive target for the design of new herbicides.
A study of the mechanism of photosynthetic electron transport by the present invention has enabled compounds to be developed which inhibit electron transport at the same site as the commercially available herbicides such as diuron (DCMU), the triazines and bromacil. The compounds of the present invention are chemically distinct from these known compounds, and are further distinguished from known classes of photosynthetic herbicides by their almost exclusive post-emergent action and the unique selectivity pattern that they display.